Recently three masked men broke into a medical marijuana store stealing most of the merchandise and even ripping a 25 lb. safe out of the wall.

Cameras captured three men walking into a medical marijuana store and in less than three minutes robbing the place clean. From the footage in the video it is clear to see that the thieves knew their way around the store. They used crowbars to rip the store safe off the wall which contained $5,000 worth of medical marijuana.

“It makes me so mad” said store owner Chris Branan, he told reporters that the store serves close to 200 patients and had recently installed the video cameras in the store. The thieves left with everything but the store’s ATM machine which displayed and clear warning that it was tracked by GPS.

Unfortunately the police were unable to identify the perpetrators because of the masks they wore. However, Branan assures other that despite this set back he will be back in business serving his patients again.

In Brookline, Massachusetts, a woman was caught on tape stuffing $200 worth of puzzles into her bag at Eureka Puzzles. She later returned to the store and was immediately spotted when a store employee recognized her from the tape. However, when confronted, Mary Lane, 52, claim that she had never been in the store until that time and is denying the charges.

On the other hand, the video clearly showed a woman who strongly resembled Lane walking into the store shoving puzzles into her bag and then looking at the camera, bowing her head, removing her sunglasses and moving off the screen. Despite having the same bag as the culprit in the video, Miss Lane insists that it was not her. But unfortunately for her, when police searched her bag they found one of the stolen puzzles. Employees also recognized Lane as a customer who had previously ordered games for the store to put on display. Those games were stolen just a few days later.

In Oregon City, Oregon, a man was caught on a store camera celebrating a winning lottery ticket that he had just purchased. This same man had just come from robbing some firefighters.

The man walked past a park where some firefighters were training and stole a wallet and three cases of special equipment from them, before walking into a grocery store and buying $75 worth of lottery tickets. The suspect then won $45 off the lottery ticket and is seen on the store’s surveillance footage dancing in celebration. He then left and used one of the firefighters credit cards to purchase two skateboards and a hat. Between the stolen merchandise and the emergency equipment, the thief made off with about $1000 worth of items.

Last week in Seattle, law enforcement used the GPS feature installed in most cellphones to track a murder suspect as he fled from the scene at the Federal Way Transit Center. Merlin Bell was suspected of shooting and killing Devon Winston Parks. Witnesses told police that they had seen Bell speaking with Parks before the shooting and then identified Bell as the shooter.

Police were able to obtain Bell’s cellphone number and worked with T-mobile to track his cellphone while the police searched for him. Soon after the shooting a police dog found Bell hiding behind a bush with a revolver hidden nearby. Furthermore, police were able to identify Bell in an MTA surveillance camera shooting. Police say that the surveillance footage reveals that the victim has been in a defensive position. Overall, the insurmountable evidence presented against Bell was enough to put him behind bars under second-degree murder charges.

This story is another example of how A-GPS technology, now common in most cell phones, is helping law enforcement do their jobs more efficiently. It’s becoming very clear that GPS, combined with the CCTV surveillance cameras installed in many transportation systems are helping the authorities bring in dangerous criminals at a faster pace than ever before possible.

The U.S. Border Patrol recently unveiled its latest weapon in their fight against the smuggling of drugs, weapons, goods, and illegal aliens. The border patrol is now enlisting the help of a specially outfitted 43 foot long boat.

The boat is still in its testing stages but boasts a high speed of 75 mph as well as a new security camera that is able to see up to one mile ahead of the vehicle at night. This new patrol boat is 13-20 miles per hour faster than the normal patrol boats used by government agents today. It is also the first of its kind to use new powerful heat detection software in its cameras helping to ensure that things can be seen even in the darkness of night. The boat is also equipped with 4 machine gun turrets as well as four pistols for the men aboard the boat.

A Contract Security worker from Winfield Monitoring the Security feeds

Until recently, the Newark Public Housing Complex was a regular spot for drug dealers to do their business. The drug dealers would hold up a parking lot, customers would make a purchase and they would drive away. But police have made strides in reducing the crime thanks to the over 700 cameras that were recently installed on rooftops, poles and hallways.

The cameras are under 24/7 surveillance and keep a watchful eye on 10,000 city residents and 27 housing complexes. The surveillance systems have helped keep the drug dealers from making open air transactions as well as keeping crack junkies and prostitutes from using the local residences as a hang out. Along with the security cameras, the Housing Complex also taps into the New Jersey state police department to make regular rounds through the houses and the Winfield security company has also been hired to monitor the video cameras.

Recently in Albany, Georgia, a convenience store was robbed and the entire robbery was caught on tape. The Climax convenience store was robbed at gun point just an hour before its closing time. The thief made off with $300 from the cashier register but left the two employees working there at the time unharmed.

Despite the fact that the entire robbery was caught on tape, the police still have not been able to find the burglar and are asking for any one with information to come forward. The police arrested two men that matched the suspects description, and while both had warrants neither was the person they were looking for. Needless to say some of the workers are still very worried about coming back to work.

“Just to view what happened on the camera made me cry because these are my employees,” said Nicoa West, an employee of Climax who was not on duty during the time of the robbery.

A bar in Baltimore named Shirley’s Honey Hole, has agreed to having surveillance cameras being installed both inside and outside their premises. These cameras will have a direct feed to the Baltimore Police department. The owner of the bar agreed to the cameras as part of a settlement deal to help keep her bar from being padlocked. She also must close the bar for a month to install the cameras, and she must hire a security guard for to have on premises. The police believe that the bar is a popular spot for drug dealing and also believe that some of the bars costumers have been linked to several recent shootings. By installing surveillance cameras with a live feed going to the police, they believe that bar patrons will feel more secure drinking at Shirley’s, and that ultimately this will be a crime deterrent.

The police have stated that this is still an experimental system and are not sure whether the cameras will stay in the bar indefinitely or if they will be removed after and certain amount of time. They are also unsure as to whether or not they are going to implement this same strategy in other establishments.

The owner of Shirley’s Honey Hole said that she will place two large signs up to let people know that they are being watched.

Lindsay Lohan did it, Audrina Patridge did it, and now a couple from Atlanta is turning to YouTube to help find the criminals involved in the recent break-in of their home.

When the Koops were robbed last October, they posted the surveillance video detailing the crime on YouTube. The video shows three men kicking in the Koop’s front door and running out with the couple’s flat screen TV. Thanks to the surveillance video, the police were able to locate and arrests the burglars involved.

When the Koop’s home was broken into for a second time, they once again turned to YouTube for help. The newest video shows some men breaking into their home, grabbing an assortment of items, and making a fast getaway in a black SUV. The men were unaware of the fact that they were being watched and broadcasting to the Internet community.

Apparently YouTube is more than just silly homemade tapes and music videos, and has started to serve a serious security purpose. Only time will tell if YouTube will locate the criminals involved in the Koop’s home invasion.